The present invention relates to radiation therapy treatment and more particularly to a system and method for providing such treatment.
Radiotherapy devices are generally used for the treatment of patients. A radiation therapy device usually comprises a gantry which can be swiveled around a horizontal axis of rotation in the course of a therapeutic treatment. A linear accelerator is located in the gantry for generating a high energy radiation beam for therapy. This high energy radiation beam can be an electron radiation or photon x-ray beam. During treatment, this radiation beam is trained on a zone of a patient lying on the isocenter of the gantry rotation. The delivery of radiation by a radiation therapy device is prescribed and approved by an oncologist. Actual operation of the radiation equipment, however, is normally done by a therapist. When the therapist administers the actual delivery of the radiation treatment as prescribed by the oncologist, the radiation emitting device is programmed to deliver the specific treatment.
Typically, in such a system, the oncologist has a clear understanding of the particular type of treatment that is desired. For example, if it is a prostate cancer treatment, the oncologist will be an expert in that type of cancer treatment and will provide the appropriate treatment plan. Similarly, if the cancer is a breast cancer, then the oncologist that has sufficient knowledge about that type of cancer will provide the treatment regarding that type of cancer. However, in those instances where an expert is not available, it is possible that the patient may not receive the kind of treatment that can aggressively treat a particular type of problem. Particularly in areas that are undeveloped, i.e., third world countries, where experts are not available, it would be desirable to be able to provide the best possible treatment plan for a particular type of cancer. Accordingly, what is desired is a system allowing for a radiation therapy treatment where an expert is not available to provide the particular treatment plan. The system should be easy to use, adaptable, and compatible with existing radiotherapy equipment. The present invention addresses such a need.
A method and system for providing a radiation treatment to a patient utilizing a radiation treatment is disclosed. The method and system comprises providing relevant identifying information about the patient to a server; and determining the disease of the patient to be treated. The method and system further includes providing a radiation treatment protocol based upon the patient information and the disease from the server to the treatment unit.
Accordingly, through the present invention a treatment plan is provided based upon information in a database within the server. In addition, the database can be updated on a regular basis through access to the Internet, intranet, or other types of input to insure that the particular treatment plan provided is the most up-to-date treatment plan for the disease to be treated. In so doing, a system is provided that can be used in settings where experts are not available.